igure due to the same cause is found in sycamore and
beech, but is not so pronounced. The beautiful figure in "bird's eye
maple" is supposed to be due to the boring action of insects in the
early growth of the tree, causing pits or grooves, which in time
become filled up by being overlain by fresh layers of wood growth;
these peculiar and unique markings are found only in the older and
inner portion of the tree.

Pitch pine has sometimes a very beautiful "figure," but it generally
does not go deep into the timber; walnut has quite a variety of
"figures," and so has the elm. It is in mahogany, however, that we
find the greatest variety of "figure," and as this timber is only used
for furniture and fancy work, a good "figure" greatly enhances its
value, as firmly figured logs bring fancy prices.

Mahogany, unlike the oak, never draws its "figure" from its small and
almost unnoticeable medullary rays, but from the twisted condition of
its fibres; the natural growth of mahogany produces a straight wood;
what is called "figured" is unnatural and exceptional, and thus adds
to its value as an ornamental wood. These peculiarities are rarely
found in the earlier portion of the tree that is near the center,
being in this respect quite different from maple; they appear when the
tree is more fully developed, and consist of bundles of woody fibres
which, instead of being laid in straight lines, behave in an erratic
manner and are deposited in a twisted form; sometimes it may be caused
by the intersection of branches, or possibly by the crackling of the
bark pressing on the wood, and thus moving it out of its natural
straight course, causing a wavy line which in time becomes
accentuated.

It will have been observed by most people that the outer portion of a
tree is often indented by the bark, and the outer rings often follow a
sinuous course which corresponds to this indention, but in most trees,
after a few years, this is evened up and the annual rings assume their
nearly circular form; it is supposed by some that in the case of
mahogany this is not the case, and that the indentations are even
accentuated.

The best figured logs of timber are secured from trees which grow in
firm rocky soil; those growing on low-lying or swampy ground are
seldom figured. To the practical woodworker the figure in mahogany
causes some difficulty in planing the wood to a smooth surface; some
portions plane smooth, others are the "wrong way of the